As afternoon temperatures soar into 80s, Dunwoody High School has been without a fully functioning air-conditioning system for three days, and further compounding the problem, black water has been pouring from sinks and water fountains because of a broken valve.
The school will switch to remote learning for the remainder of the week, according to an announcement from its principal on Oct. 14.
“I am writing to update you on three facilities issues at Dunwoody High School this week and the steps we are taking to address them,” the announcement said.
“First, we experienced water valve issues that resulted in discolored water in a few areas of the building. Bottled water is available on site for students and staff, including in our kitchen, and restrooms remain operational. The water issue also affected HVAC systems in parts of the school. The affected HVAC units have been repaired and are now operational and cooling. We will continue with school as normal for the rest of today (Oct. 14).”
However, to allow for necessary water valve repairs, “students, teachers, and staff will transition to asynchronous-virtual learning on Thursday and Friday of this week,” the announcement from Bass said. “Essential 12-month staff will remain on site to maintain operations. Before- and after-school activities and events will continue on campus as scheduled today, Thursday, Friday, and Saturday.”
Bass said concerns about possible mold in portable classrooms have been investigated and are unfounded, but “out of an abundance of caution, we will conduct air quality testing to further assess the environment.”
DCSD District 1 representative Andrew B Ziffer posted on social media on Oct. 14 that DCSD is aware of the issues and is sending crews to evaluate and repair the multiple issues at the school, along with bottled water and portable HVAC units.
Dunwoody High School, with almost 2,000 attendees, according to estimates, is far beyond its 1,550-student capacity. It has a half-dozen trailers outside the school to ease overcrowding.
